a. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a cartridge ejector device for a firearm the action of which (the operating mechanism by which a gun is loaded, fired and unloaded) is opened by tilting about a hinge interconnecting the barrel and the receiver or receiver housing.
b. Prior Art
Ejector devices are used in particular in multi-barrel firearms and serve in response to opening of the action to extract (pull or push) a cartridge in the chamber rearwardly, either relatively slowly and only partially out of the chamber so that the cartridge can be grasped manually by the operator, or to rapidly and completely eject it out of the chamber so that the chamber becomes accessible for the insertion of a fresh cartridge. The slow extraction is desired in the case of an unfired cartridge, whereas the rapid ejection is desired in the case of a fired cartridge, that is, a cartridge shell.
The ejection of the cartridge is effected by a spring which is loaded by a cam on the receiver in response to closing of the action. When the slow extraction takes place, this cam controls the rearward movement of the cartridge ejector so that the cartridge ejector is moved at a rate corresponding to the rapidity at which the firearm action is opened. The rapid ejection is accomplished in that the ejector latch latches the cartridge ejector until the action has been fully or almost fully opened. When the ejector latch is then released and accordingly unlatches the cartridge ejector, the cartridge ejector is set free for unrestrained rearward movement under the influence of the spring force.
In a prior art cartridge ejector device, the gas pressure developed inside the barrel upon the firing is used to actuate the ejector latch to cause it to latch the cartridge ejector (U.S. Pat. No. 3,964,198). However, this prior art cartridge ejector device is complicated and delicate.